ram for P55A-UD7 that can be reused on ivy bridge

[alternety]

Hi. I need to get a new set of 8GB (2 x 4gb) ram for my Gigabyte P55A-UD7. I believe I will upgrade in a year or so to the ivy bridge series. I am currently using an I7 860 processor. I want to run some overclocking on the I7.

I figure that for a change I could buy ram that I don't have to throw away when I build the next machine. It appears that the change to DDR4 will not happen until around 2014 so I can reuse the DDR3 ram. Looking at the G.skill site I see that many of the higher speed chips are back to 1.65 volts. I seem to remember that the P55A/i7 860 does not want memory voltage to go above 1.5. I don't know what ivy bridge will use. Right now I have the red ripjaws 1.5 volt sticks in my P55A. I have a large heat exchanger and they fit fine.

Looking through the G.skill site I am not understanding the nuances between the sticks with differing letter suffixes so I am even more concerned about making a bad choice.

I would like to get high performance ram that will make an ivy bridge system very happy if I can do it at this time. I also noted on the G.skill site that some of the ram is now rated for XMP which I believe is what ivy bridge will want for best performance.

Can someone recommend what I should get to satisfy these plans?

[Tradesman]

First off to upgrade your current rig, you mention 8GB and fast, so on your mobo specs call for up to 16GB of DRAM which limits you to a total of 4x4GB at up to 2600....which you may want to give thought to.

While you say you want to utilize this DRAM in the future, give thought to "will 8GB be enough?". I say this because when the time comes, if you stay at 8GB now, you'll prob want 16 which means either adding another 8GB or going with a whole new set of 16 or larger, so you may want to consider a 16GB set now, since any time you mix sets, even of the same model, it can be problematic, especially with higher freq/speed sets.

That said, you bring up the issue of higher voltages from 1.5, this is entirely normal in the high freq DRAM as the DRAM will require an OC of the CPU/mobo combo, which will result in higher CPU, MC and system voltages, so the higher DRAM voltages remain in line with system tolerances and isn't a problem. An additional thought on this is that to prepare for the future, it's not a bad idea to even buy DRAM that is faster than you currently intend to run, and can drop the freq and tighten the timings to what you are comfortable with. I.E. Your mobo, by spec is rated for up to 2600+, and while there's not much of that available today - there will be much more available (up to 2800 anyway within a couple weeks) and while the 2600 area DRAM will be in the CL10/11 area, you could run it sown at 2133 prob with CL8/9 and have some very fast sticks, without going to an extreme CPU OC, you'll also prob be able to run at the lower freq/tighter CL with less voltage (i.e. a 2600 set at 1.65 could prob be run at 2133/1.6 or lower.

As to the different lettering and suffixs - I wrote a post recently breaking down the makeup of the Model #s and what the different parts of the Model # mean here under General Discussions:

http://www.gskill.us/forum/showthread.php?t=10564

To further elaborate (and I'm just going to stick with the main model lines of DRAM) – though keep in mind all will work with the other sockets and chipsets – listed below is what primarily oriented towards:

Ripjaws - Brought out for the 1366, 1156 Socket
Ripjaws X – for 1155
Ripjaws Z – for 2011
Sniper - 1155, 1156, 1366
Ares - 1155, 1156

And lastly XMP, all of the above line (and others) are XMP compliant, most current mobos run XMP 1.2 with the newer socket 2011 native at XMP 1.3 (though those sticks are backward compatible)
Again, if I left anything out, give a holler

[alternety]

Thanks.

If I understand correctly, both my current motherboard/cpu and ivy bridge systems are happy with cpu voltage of 1.65V. Beyond that, any speed I buy now (in a few weeks, waiting for the new introductions you mentioned) will work in ivy bridge. The highest the clock frequency and the lowest CL the better. These can all be tuned down for the P55A system and will work with ivy bridge.

I do not recollect seeing differentiation on the G.skill site between the various versions of XDM. Is there a way to see these values so I can select for the most advanced?

So I should buy the fastest stick (high clock, low CL) and the newest XDM version that I can afford.

One extra question, what is the difference between the various lines of your ram (e.g., ripjaw, aries, etc.)?

[Tradesman]

Happy at 1.65 at OCed speeds, which are required for the higher freq DRAM - Yes.
Higher freq/lowest CL Better - Yes. Tuned down - Yes (in fact I show some numbers in this thread:

http://www.gskill.us/forum/showthread.php?t=10602

using an 1866 set (and your post here tells me I ought to test them on down to 1333, which I ran at 1333/CL7 but didn't run test on....will do and Thanx for the inspiration to do so)

On the differentiation between XMP (which is short for - eXtreme Memory Performance) 1.3 is standard on the Ripjaws Z series as they are oriented to the socket 2011/X79 chipset which utilizes true QUAD-Channel memory architecture, but also have a XMP 1.2 profile....as to the others that are native XMP 1.2, GSkill has started including an XMP 1.3 profile, they are fairly interchangeable.

Again, I'd suggest the best combo clock/CL that fits in the budget, as mentioned previously, most all sets will have both 1.2 and 1.3 profiles

On the 'EXTRA' question, I'll have to charge double........just kidding, the differences besides being designed toward different chipsets can include use of different PCBs (base board it's mad of), ICs (chips), and the programming of the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) which is the programming of the sticks as to timings, freqs, etc

[alternety]

Yet another question. Yes, I am willing to absorb the extra fee.

Can you offer an opinion on the soon-to-be-released RAM. Is it just faster, or is it going to be different in other ways. The reason I ask is that Newegg has a sale that ends today. If it is only speed I will buy some now.

[Tradesman]

Primarily it will be faster sets 2600 to 2800 (possibly even faster), but will also probably carry a premium on price....these sets will centric to the Z77 and the newer 1155 CPUs, but will work fine with others as backward compatible if folks have systems that can handle them (i.e. OCers) -

I'll even waive the fee

[GSKILL TECH]

i7 860 can do DDR3-2400, so basically any high performance kit can be used with your P55 now, and any upgrade you do in the future. Just purchase the memory spec that you think will be good enough for the future computer.

Don't purchase 8GB modules though, since P55 and i7 860 only supports 4GB modules.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH